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It's the very heart of gardening: sowing seeds and tending seedlings that will develop into colorful flowers or delectable edibles. And there is possibly no better antidote to the frigid weather we've been enduring than planning for next season's garden. That's why I have started combing through my notes from last year and will begin mapping out what seeds I will sow indoors.
Growing favorite vegetables or flowers from seed is enormously satisfying, relatively simple, and the least expensive way (in the long run) to procure an assortment of rare heirloom tomatoes and dozens of uncommon annuals to fill pots or beds. The major keys to success: fresh, quality seed, the right "soil," a set of grow lights and a gentle transition to life in the great outdoors.
I prefer to grow seeds of plants I won't find at every box store and roadside nursery, like the tiny but floriferous Signet marigolds, also known as wild marigolds and Gem marigolds. What these small flowers lack in size they make up in a profusion of blooms. Few plants perform as long and steadily as these little beauties. Individual plants can develop into 20-inch-by-20--inch bushy mounds covered in bright flowers all summer. No deadheading is necessary since they simply keep flowering until shorter days and colder temperatures slow these annuals down. There are several colors available now: Lemon Gem, Tangerine Gem, Red Gem, and Lemon Star.
Have you seen the new Cupcake cosmos? This description by Select Seeds captures it perfectly:
"Drink deep and revel in the purity and beauty of this perfect chalice-shaped bloom, a rare form that has fused petals that create a bowl, accented in the center with a tuft of gold stamens."
I was captivated when I first encountered the pure white version at Chanticleer Garden in Wayne, Pa., a few years ago and simply had to have it, which meant hunting down the seed. Last year, it appeared in several seed catalogs. I'm not as taken with the double pink-and-white versions from Burpee called Cupcakes Mix.
Even though I still love thumbing through paper seed catalogs, I've been huddling near a little space heater under my desk and looking at some of my favorite seed companies' websites: Select Seeds, Johnny's Selected Seeds and Renee's Garden. I like exploring Hudson Valley Seed Company's offerings also. The company grew out of a seed library project in Ulster County, N.Y. Their motto is "Celebrating the Art of Seed," and they promote

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